Spiraeaxc3x97bumalda cultivar Golden Carpet.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Spiraea plant, botanically known as Spiraeaxc3x97bumalda, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name Golden Carpet.
The new Spiraea is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada. The objective of the breeding program is to create compact Spiraeas with unique leaf coloration and few to no flowers.
The new Spiraea originated from a cross made by the Inventor of a proprietary Spiraea selection identified as code number G-DW-80-48, not patented, as the female, or seed parent, with a proprietary Spiraea selection identified as code number G-DW-80-106, not patented, as the male, or pollen parent. The new Spiraea was first observed in 1982 and was selected in 1984 as a single plant from the resulting progeny by the Inventor in a controlled environment in Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada, on the basis of its yellow-colored foliage.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada since 1984, has shown that the unique features of this new Spiraea are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
Plants of the cultivar Golden Carpet have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment and culture such as temperature, light intensity and daylength without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Golden Carpetxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Golden Carpetxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Compact, and low mounding plant habit.
2. Dense and bushy growth habit.
3. Small yellow-colored leaves.
Plants of the new Spiraea differ from plants of the parents and the cultivars Green Carpet, U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 10/036,936 filed concurrently, and Sparkling Carpet, U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 10/036,937 filed concurrently, primarily in foliage color.
Plants of the new Spiraea are similar in foliage color to plants of the Spiraea xe2x80x98Gold Moundxe2x80x99, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada, plants of the new Spiraea differed from plants of the cultivar Gold Mound in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Spiraea were more compact than plants of the cultivar Gold Mound.
2. Plants of the new Spiraea were more freely branching and bushier than plants of the cultivar Gold Mound.
3. Plants of the new Spiraea had smaller leaves than plants of the cultivar Gold Mound.
4. Plants of the new Spiraea produced no or only a few flowers whereas plants of the cultivar Gold Mound produced numerous flowers.
Plants of the new Spiraea are also similar in foliage color to plants of the Spiraea xe2x80x98Golden Princessxe2x80x99, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada, plants of the new Spiraea differed from plants of the cultivar Golden Princess in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Spiraea were more compact than plants of the cultivar Golden Princess.
2. Plants of the new Spiraea were more freely branching and bushier than plants of the cultivar Golden Princess.
3. Plants of the new Spiraea had smaller leaves than plants of the cultivar Golden Princess.
4. Plants of the new Spiraea produced no or only a few flowers whereas plants of the cultivar Golden Princess produced numerous flowers.